Hi Hangin,
I haven't read the book yet but it would definitely be worth a read. It is a bit out of date - I feel that pre-Asian crisis and post-Asian crisis the Indonesian military has changed a great deal.
As to whether I think Kopussus is the best military unit in SEA I simply cannot agree. I would put a large number of units in front of the - including large parts of the Singaporean Army and the better Vietnamese units.
Regards,
Massive

Kopussus as the best military unit in SE Asia??? That is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. Just cause they wear hankies on their heads and pull mean faces in photos don't mean squat. They are rubbish.

You are probably being a bit harsh there.
They would be very poor compared to Australian standards but are undoubtedly the best light infantry in the TNI (although there is a seperate Marine SF unit which may be better - hell - the marines might be better). They would overmatch any Aceh separatists at a guess though.

The Indonesian Marines also have a far better reputation than Kompassus, and are more 'respected' by the Indonesian public.
During the Jarkata Riots, the deployment of Marines greatly contributed to an easing of tension. Basically, Kompassus units were rather 'lacklustre' in stopping the rioting and damage, but the Marines were seen to be more disciplined.
Kompassus are good light infantry, but I'm suspect of their training standards, especially in terms of military discipline. I don't think that they are the best in South East Asia as Special Forces.
For example, Singapore's commandoes are very well trained, and a select few have taken the US Navy SEAL course and come in first. Then there's the Thai Rangers, which are really scary guys...

I am it even all that sure that they are as good as Singaporean regular infantry.
Since they lost training assistance from Australia and the US I suspect that their standard has slipped markedly.
Agree on the Marines reputation - geberated by the then commander on the scene who's name I have forgotten but could probably track down if you are interested.
Regards,
Massive

The Strategypage article suggested that service in the military was due to conscription.
My understanding is that this is not the case, that it is all volunteer, popular as a career and that it is consequesntly quite hard to get in.
Thoughts?
Massive

I was contemplating sending Harold Hutchinson an email on that. I've never heard of conscription in Indonesia, but he may have gotten it from the CIA World factbook:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/id.html#Military
Anyone have a contact in the CIA they can berate about this? There is no way that Indonesia can support a conscript force of approximately 2 million every year.